Lessons From The First Father

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Introduction

Today is Father’s Day, a day we have set aside to honor father’s.
The difficulty and pain that some have faced make a proper understanding of fatherhood all the more crucial.
I had the privilege of having a father who is a pastor, who loves his family and puts them first. A father who loves God and His Word, and who taught his children to do the same.
My Dad is not perfect, but he is still an amazing man.
However, my dad was raised in a very difficult home.
If your experience with your father was negative, that doesn’t mean you cannot be a great father. It simply means you need God’s grace and mercy to do it.
When we talk about Father’s Day and celebrating fathers, we recognize that not everyone had a positive experience with their earthly father.
The difficulty and pain that some have faced make a proper understanding of fatherhood all the more crucial.
We need to understand what a father is supposed to be based on Scripture.
Here at Grace Church, we believe in the literal, grammatical, historical interpretation of the Bible. This means we hold to a literal Genesis.
Here at Grace Church, we believe in a literal Genesis.
We believe that God created Adam and Eve and that all of humankind are descended from them.
This morning we are going to learn three lessons from the life of Adam, the first father.
Applying these lessons will build faith, courage, and consistency.
These qualities enable us to be the best followers of Christ we can be.
Lesson #1…

1. Fatherhood Is God’s Design 1:27-28

I mentioned that we believe in a literal Genesis. One result of that is we have a very different understanding of roles within the family.
We believe in husbands and wives, in mothers and fathers because that is what God created and designed.
READ v. 27
Male and female. The same, but different.
The same in that both are made in the image and likeness of God, in Christ, both have access to God and are co-equal in dignity and worth.
Different in our physiology, as well as role and function.
READ v. 28
God commanded the man and woman to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth.
Oftentimes, men and father’s are portrayed negatively in our culture.
The number of sitcoms and movies that have the bumbling idiot father is alarming.
When we examine the topic from a Biblical perspective we learn two things. #1…
Fatherhood is good.
How do we know this?
Because God is good and He ordained fatherhood.
Also because God is our Father. In Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray. He instructs to begin that prayer with these words. Look at (S).
Luke 11:2 NKJV
So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
Paul repeatedly refers to God as “our father”. Look at (S).
Romans 1:7 NKJV
To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Fatherhood is good because it was created by a good God who is sovereign!
Because of who God is we can know with absolute certainty that one mother and on father working together to raise children is best.
Our good heavenly Father ordained fatherhood, that’s what makes it good.
Fatherhood is good. Secondly…
Fatherhood is necessary.
To obey God’s command here, you need both a mother and a father!
This rather obvious fact is coming under increasing attack in our world today.
However, we understand from Scripture that God has designed fatherhood. As such, it is necessary.
The necessity of fatherhood is supported by research.
He has designed fatherhood.
He has designed fatherhood.
Fatherhood is crucial (S).
1 in 4. Why does that matter? (S)
Wow. (S)
23.6%! Millions of children are growing up without their fathers. This research is from 2015. I don’t believe things are getting better. (S).
Fatherhood is necessary. We need dads who are in the home and connected to their children.
This is where we start to doubt, right? I know fatherhood in general is good, but what if I am just not cut out to be a father? What if I mess it up? What if I am not good enough?
This is what we all need to hear. Ready?
God made you the father of your children.
God made you the father of your children.
What does that mean?
You are the best choice for your children.
That doesn’t mean you can’t get better. It doesn’t mean you won’t make mistakes.
It means that the sovereign Lord of the universe placed you exactly where He wanted you. Through dependence on Him, you have everything necessary to be a great dad.
This is true for every single person sitting here today.
When we think that someone else could do ______ (fill in the blank) better, we are actually demonstrating a lack of faith!
God put you where you are, not someone else, you. That means He has uniquely gifted and equipped you to serve Him there.
Let me share with you how this truth has impacted my own life.
It is no secret that there have been some difficult times in the past here at Grace Church. There have been many times that I have questioned my own calling, questioned whether I am the best man for the job here.
Some great pastor friends encouraged me with the truth we have just examined. I am not here by accident. God placed me here. If He hasn’t given me the freedom to move on, and He hasn’t, then I need to stay where He has placed me, faithfully serving Him.
Through dependence on Him, we will thrive where He has placed us.
We have to trust in the sovereignty of God.
Belief in divine placement and enablement requires faith.
We must make a conscious choice to believe that God knows what He is doing and that He does not make mistakes.
Your placement, your talents, your gifts; none of these things are accidental.
God has placed you where He wants you. Depend on Him, and He will use you where He has placed you.
Have faith that a sovereign God makes no mistakes.
Fatherhood is God’s design.
Lesson #2…

2. Fatherhood Requires Ownership 3:6, 12

This is where we need courage.
READ v. 6
Adam is right there with Eve as she is tempted by the serpent.
Adam is right there with Eve as she is tempted by the serpent.
As the serpent, who is Satan, twists and distorts God’s Word, as Eve doubts and struggles, Adam is there.
He does nothing.
We just saw that our country is suffering from an epidemic of absent fathers.
Sometimes we are present physically but we are not actually present.
Our role and responsibility as father’s begins by being the best husbands ever. How do we do that? (S).
1 Peter 3:7 NKJV
Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.
Husbands, live with your wife in understanding. We are to work to know our wives better than anyone else.
commands husbands to live with their wives in understanding. We are to work to know our wives better than anyone else.
This requires that we invest in that relationship.
states (S).
Matthew 6:21 NKJV
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The context of this quote is whether we invest more in this life or the one to come. But one application is this, “Our money and our time reveal our priorities.”
How much of your time, energy, and money are going into your marriage?
Adam is standing right there as his wife is tempted.
He does nothing.
Instead, he later tries to blame everything on her and God.
READ v. 12
Did v. 6 describe Eve ramming the fruit down Adam’s throat? No.
Adam made a choice.
We make choices. We must take ownership of them.
We are responsible for the consequences that arise from our choices, good or bad.
This isn’t only true for father’s and husbands.
All of us are tempted to make excuses for sin.
Courage is required to take ownership of our faults!
Scripture is filled with examples of people blame shifting and making excuses.
Abraham is a classic example. Scripture records two instances where Abraham passed Sarah off as his sister.
After they are discovered the second time, this is Abraham’s excuse. (S).
Genesis 20:12–13 NKJV
But indeed she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ”
She is my half-sister, and besides, we agreed to this deception, so it’s ok. That’s his excuse.
We shake our heads at that, but are we willing to take ownership of our own sin?
Here’s the beautiful thing. Past failure does not disqualify us from future use.
If, we deal with the past appropriately.
Abraham failed miserably over and over again. Yet God still used him and he is held up in as a great man of faith!
David experienced great failure. Yet great repentance restored him to usefulness!
The only way to do something better is to first recognize that it has been done wrong.
This is the process of repentance and growth.
There is a caution here though.
Don’t take ownership of things that are not yours. You are not responsible for the decisions of others.
As fathers, we are going to make mistakes. We are going to fail at times.
In those moments, taking ownership of our decisions will teach our children more than all our lectures combined.
All of us are going to make mistakes. We are going to fail. We are going to sin.
We must take ownership of our faults.
This takes courage.
Adam failed to step up and lead when Eve was being tempted. Don’t make the same mistake.
We live in a culture that wants to rename everything to make it sound like less of a problem.
Our decisions and choices are blamed on circumstances or the actions of others.
That should not be true of us as believers.
When we take ownership of our faults and deal with them appropriately, God will use us.
Be courageous and take ownership.
Fatherhood is God’s design.
Fatherhood requires ownership.
Lesson #3…

3. Fatherhood Comes With Responsibility 3:17-19; 5:3

READ vv. 17-19
This is the responsibility given to the man as a result of the fall.
The responsibility of work and provision.
This is a responsibility we all share.
We’ve mentioned this verse before, but look at (S).
2 Thessalonians 3:10 NKJV
For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.
This responsibility hasn’t changed.
The Biblical principle is that work is to be done for food to be consumed. We need to earn our living.
That isn’t the only responsibility we have.
READ 5:3
The responsibility of training 5:3
Seth was in Adam’s image and likeness.
Theologically, this means that while Seth also had the image and likeness of God, he was born with a sin nature.
Practically, this means our children are like us. We look at them and we see our strengths, our good qualities, but we also see our weakness and faults.
Reinforcing the strengths and dealing with those weaknesses and faults is what parenting is all about.
Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
To us is given the responsibility of training.
One of my favorite passages that deals with the training of children is (p. 209).
(p. 209)
Deuteronomy 6:4–9 NKJV
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Parents are to teach their children about the Lord. Teach of His blessings and promises. Teach His will.
The NT reveals that this responsibility of teaching children about the Lord falls to the father. This doesn’t mean a mother cannot do it. It means that the man is the one God will hold accountable.
How do we know that? Look at (S).
Ephesians 6:4 NKJV
And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
It is father’s that are specifically addressed here.
Adam had children in his image and likeness. David said that he was a sinner from conception ().
Scripture reveals that we are sinners by nature and by choice.
When we have children they come with a sin nature fully intact. Some of you parents may have noticed that. :)
As fathers, we are to teach and train our children. We are cultivate in them a love for Christ, a love for God and His Word.
This does not happen by accident.
Deliberate, intentional action must be taken to capture the hearts of our children for Christ.
Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Throughout the OT we see what happens when children are not raised to know and love the Lord.
If we are going to train and equip our children, we need stability. We need to be consistent.
Our lives must be committed to Christ. We must live with dedication and faith.
To fulfill our responsibility, consistency is needed.
Every believer has a responsibility to disciple others.
Every believer has a responsibility to disciple others.
All of us are to reach the lost.
Once they have been reached, we are to train them.
Are we fulfilling our responsibility?

Conclusion

What do we learn from the first father?
First,
You are God’s design.
He doesn’t make mistakes.
God has placed you where you are for a specific purpose.
To discover our purpose, we must depend on the Lord.
Second,
Own your faults.
When we confess our sin and deal with it, change happens.
It is not the sinless that are used by God. It is the repentant.
Our children learn courage from watching us fail and get back up.
Third,
Be responsible.
As you are able, work.
Earn your living.
Invest in the lives of others. Teach and train. Make disciples.
Teach and train.
Make disciples.
Have faith. Take courage. Be consistent.
That’s what I believe the Lord wants we here at Grace Church to be.
Faithful. Courageous. Consistent.
May we serve Christ to the best of our ability.
; , , ;
Genesis 1:27–28 NKJV
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 3:6 NKJV
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
Genesis 3:12 NKJV
Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
Genesis 3:17–19 NKJV
Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”
Genesis 5:3 NKJV
And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.
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